


That Moment in Time

by itislacey



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I'm not sure what they are in this fic and neither are they, M/M, Phan - Freeform, maybe? - Freeform, youll see why at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 16:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8851828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itislacey/pseuds/itislacey
Summary: Phil is stressed as he tries to get together a Christmas present for Dan, and he doesn't have much time considering it's Christmas Eve. But somehow, he manages to get most of it done, despite Dan's involuntary efforts to stop him from his goal.





	

**Author's Note:**

> that summary is absolute shit but writing is hard it's either you get a good title and shit summary or shit title and good summary. Maybe I'll edit it if I can think of a better one but probably not. Anyways, this is for Lex, who doesn't even remember the idea for this fic, but I bet she does near the end. Even if she doesn't, I've had the screenshot saved for nearly a month now. Anyways, this fic is decent so enjoy a decent story, I guess?

Okay,  _ maybe  _ it wasn't a good idea to spend the day before Christmas, running around town and gathering supplies to finish up one last gift. 

Phil knew it was going to be busy. After all, he wasn't the only one who waited last minute to do things. Dan was proof of that. But he just  _ couldn't  _ think of a gift for Dan until last night at three in the morning, and he only had so many hours to get what he needed before the shops closed down mid-afternoon. 

He stood in line at one store for almost thirty minutes, which made him take note to  _ never  _ go out on Christmas Eve again. But it wasn't his fault that Dan got harder to shop for every year. 

So after being out for nearly two hours, and standing in line for one of them, Phil rushed home and locked himself in his room, hoping today would be a day that Dan minded his own business and didn't bother Phil because he was bored. 

That only seemed to last forty-five minutes, however, when Dan pounded on Phil's door, causing him to drop the scissors and make the glue stick roll away from him. 

Phil frowned, thinking that surely the tip of the glue had hair and other particles on it now. 

“Phil, what are you doing? Come watch TV with me or something. I'm  _ bored.” _

Ah, there it was. Dan's  _ boredom.  _ Phil sighed. “I’m a bit busy, Dan. Can you wait a while?” He still had time to put together Dan's gift, but he wanted a majority of it done now, so he wouldn't have to stay up until the late hours of the morning, trying to get it done. 

“How long is ‘a while’? I want to do something.”

“I don't know. An hour?” That seemed like a reasonable time frame. He could get a lot of this done in an hour, and wait until Dan dozed off or something to come back and start again. 

There was a thump on Phil's door, and he assumed it was Dan's forehead connecting to it. “Fine. I'll just talk to people on Twitter, I guess.” 

Phil smiled to himself. “Good. I'll hang out in one hour.” He snatched the glue stick off the floor, picking away the tiny hairs that stuck to it, and got back to work. Yes, he felt bad that he told Dan he couldn't hang out, but this was far more important. Dan would see. Soon. 

*

Exactly one hour had passed when Dan's fist pounded against the door, nearly giving Phil a heart attack. 

“Jesus, Dan!” 

“Come on, your hour is up. You have twenty seconds to open this door or I'm kicking it down.” 

Phil snorted. “Yeah, you can explain that one to the landlord.” It was easy to explain the cracked tiles in the kitchen, or even the very few scratches on the walls, but a broken down door was something else entirely. And if that was what Dan resorted to . . . Well. He could tell their odd landlord how it broke. 

“Twenty,” Dan said, shortly followed by, “Nineteen.” 

“Okay, okay! I'm coming!” Phil quickly shoved everything under the bed, and put the cap back on the glue before making sure everything was out of sight and opening the door. 

Dan stopped his counting, looking past Phil and into his bedroom. “What were you doing?”

“Nothing.” 

“You mean to tell me that you've been sitting in here for a full hour, doing  _ nothing?”  _ Dan raised one brow, still scanning Phil's room for evidence of  _ something.  _

Phil shrugged. “I'm not going to tell you. Besides, you'll find out what it is soon enough. Now, what did you want to do?” he asked, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. 

Dan gave him a look, but quickly softened his features. “I don't know. Let's watch a show or play a game. Anything will do. I don't have anything to do today and it's making me restless.” 

“You're fine on any other day,” Phil pointed out, following Dan to the lounge. 

“Yeah, but those are days I don't feel like doing anything or interacting with people.” 

_ The one time I want him to have one of those days-  _ Phil thought. “Okay, fine, but I need to get back to -” He stopped himself before he could finish.

“To what? Nothing?” 

“Yeah. Nothing,” Phil agreed, flashing Dan a toothy smile. 

Dan grumbled something under his breath, plopping down into the couch. He reached for the remote, changing it so the TV was connected to the Internet. “I was thinking  _ Food Wars.  _ Sound good?” 

“Yeah,” Phil agreed, though he didn't really want to watch anything. But if it would make Dan content for a little while, then he supposed he could put up with it. 

They turned out watching three episodes, mostly because the endings were too good. It was the classic  _ falling into the anime pit,  _ as Dan tended to put it. 

“I'm hungry,” Dan announced. 

Phil held in a groan. All he wanted to do was finish Dan's present and be done with Christmas. Well, the gathering of presents. The day of was never terrible, mostly because he got to spend it with people he loved. 

“What about you?” Dan continued when Phil said nothing. 

He supposed he  _ was  _ a little hungry. “Yeah. What were you thinking we get? I believe most places are closed since it's Christmas Eve.” 

Dan huffed. “Looks like a frozen pizza will have to do.”

Phil made a face. It wasn't that frozen pizza was  _ bad,  _ but it definitely wasn't his favorite. “Okay. Well, you make that, and I'm going to-”

“Go back to doing nothing?” Dan finished, frowning slightly. 

“Dan, I need to-” 

“Nope. You're spending the rest of the night with me.” Dan launched himself across the couch, tackling Phil into a hug. 

“Get off!”

“Never! Spend time with me, Phil. I didn't stalk you all those months for nothing.” 

Phil held back a laugh, struggling to get out of Dan's grip. “Don't make me play ‘Hello Internet’ I swear to God, I will.”

“I'm putting that video on private!” 

“Liar!” Phil managed to get free of Dan's grasp, falling off the couch and hitting the floor with a loud thud. He hoped the neighbors below didn't mind. 

He scrambled across the floor, nearing the door. He almost made it out of the lounge when Dan grabbed Phil's ankles, dragging him back. 

“Get back here! I need attention!” 

“Then go upload a new danisnotonfire video!” Phil fired back, kicking his legs and laughing, despite wanting to escape Dan's grasp. 

Dan grunted, pulling Phil beneath him. “Not that kind of attention,” he clarified, pinning Phil beneath him. 

“This isn't fair,” Phil pouted. “I just want to finish wrapping my gifts and you won't let me.” 

Dan chuckled. “Is that what you were doing? Why didn't you just tell me that? I could have helped you!”

“Not when it's your own gift,” Phil huffed. Besides, there was no wrapping required. Just assembling. More than likely he would place it in a gift bag with tissue paper. He  _ could  _ wrap it, but that required more effort and his wrapping skills were garbage. Dan always made sure to point that out every year. 

“I could still help.” Dan winked, smiling widely and revealing his dimples. 

“I don't think so.” Phil squirmed, still unable to get free. “Let me go.” 

“Not until you give me a hint at what you got me,” Dan chirped. 

“What? No! Dan, let me go!” 

“Give me a hint and I will,” he said, leaning more weight on Phil. 

“It's the knife I'm going to kill you with if you don't get off of me!” Phil grunted, still squirming. 

Dan laughed loudly, the smile lines creasing around his mouth and eyes. “That's something I'd expect to come out of  _ my  _ mouth. So I'll let you go, only because I fear for my own safety.” Dan let go of Phil's wrists, sitting up so Phil could stand. 

“I hate you.” 

Dan gave him a cheeky smile. “I'll make the pizza and you can do whatever it is you have to do. I'll tell you when it's done.” 

Phil huffed in fake annoyance, heading back to his room and making sure to lock the door behind him. There had been multiple occasions where Dan threw open the door just to scare him, but he couldn't afford anything of the sort right now. He had to get this done, and it had to be before Dan woke up tomorrow morning. And with that boy, there was no telling what time that would be.

He quickly got back to work, taking out everything from underneath his bed, and finding where he left off. Though he wasn't the biggest procrastinator out there (that title belonging to Dan), he did already have some of the things ready to go a few days ago. He had wanted to give Dan these things at some point, which is why he already had them, but what better time to give him them than tomorrow? 

Phil didn't realize how much time had passed until Dan knocked on his door and told him the pizza was done. Had it really been thirty minutes already? 

“Come on, Phil. Finish it after you've eaten!” Dan yelled through the door. 

Phil groaned, shoving all his supplies back under the bed. He grumbled as he opened the door, seeing a smirking Dan standing there. 

“Don't act like you're upset.”

“I'm not acting.”

Dan chuckled. “You should have done it sooner.” 

“If I knew this is what I was going to do, then I most certainly would have. You have room to talk on procrastinating. I bet you didn't even pack to visit your family yet.”

“Hey, hey,” Dan said defensively, furrowing his brows. “I have plenty of time.” 

Phil scowled. “Plenty of time to you is five minutes before the train leaves. And that's not even counting the time it takes to actually  _ get  _ to the station.”

Dan snorted. “Don't be so dramatic.” They were in the kitchen now, the pizza already cut into an even amount of pieces for the both of them.

“A lovely Christmas Eve dinner,” Phil said, grabbing a plate and loading up his pizza slices. 

“At least I made you food. If I didn't, you wouldn't have eaten tonight.”

“That's not true,” Phil said, pursing his lips. 

“Sure it's not, Philly. Now, what do you want to watch while we eat?”

Phil mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Dan said teasingly, trying to catch Phil's eyes. 

“I don't want to watch anything! Dan, I need to finish this. Please.” 

Dan looked at him and smiled softly. “This is very important to you, isn't it?"

“Yes,” Phil practically whimpered. “Please let me finish it for you. I'll spend all morning with you, and we can watch whatever you want and drink hot cocoa. Please, just-” 

“Hey,” Dan said gently, cutting him off. “It's okay. You go do whatever you have to do, and I'll be right here if you need me, okay?”

Phil nodded, ducking his head sheepishly. “Sorry.” 

“It's okay, Phil. I promise.” 

“Okay,” Phil whispered, rushing back to his room. God, he hoped Dan would like his present. He had spent hours on it already and wasn’t even done. 

Phil had been so invested into his work, in fact, that he didn’t realize what time it was until Dan knocked on his door and startled him. He peered over at his phone, pressing the home button to see that it was nearing ten in the evening. He had left Dan in the lounge  _ four hours  _ ago.

“Hey, Phil, I’m taking an early night, but I thought I’d see if maybe you would unlock the door when I leave? If there’s an emergency, I want to be able to get to you, yeah?” 

Phil nodded his head, only then realizing Dan couldn’t see him. He got up and headed over to his door, unlocking it and making sure it was loud enough for Dan to hear.

“Thank you,” Dan said. “See you in the morning.” 

“See you,” Phil mumbled, immediately heading back to the piles of scrap paper on his floor. He had gotten done sorting through everything, setting it aside in the order he wanted it to go in. Now it was only a matter of putting them  _ in  _ the damn thing. 

He didn’t think it was going to take that long, honestly. But it must have, considering the next time he looked up, sunlight was streaming through the window and onto the floor, where dozens of scraps of paper rested, along with three empty tubes of glue.

It was then he lied down on top of it all, resting his eyes for just a moment. He had to look like he had  _ some  _ sleep. If he didn’t, then Dan would surely question him and get mad that Phil didn’t sleep a wink. 

As it turned out, Phil dozed off in literal seconds. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep for, but all he knew was that he  _ still  _ wasn’t done with Dan’s gift, and Dan was currently shaking him awake and calling his name.

“Phil? Hey, Phil? You need to wake up.” 

“Mmmm,” Phil mumbled, only then realizing that Dan could see his gift. Phil didn’t even have time to stick it in a bag! “No, you have to leave!” he said quickly, sitting up and trying to shove everything back under the bed.

“Whoa, whoa! Phil, stop,” Dan said sternly, grabbing him by the shoulders. “What’s going on with you? When did you go to sleep?” 

Phil shrugged his shoulders, aiming for a little bit of truth. He didn’t know when, exactly, he went to bed, but he knew it wasn’t that long ago.

“You’re definitely taking a nap today,” Dan stated.

“No, Dan! I’m not done. You need to leave.” He pushed at Dan’s torso with barely any strength. He was too tired and out of energy.

“Yes, you are done. Come on, get up.”

“No!” Phil whined. “Please, I have to-”

“You’re finished. I said so, and it’s my gift, so that’s that.”

“That’s not how it works.” Phil folded his arms across his chest, sticking out his lips in a pout. 

Dan rolled his eyes, and then scanned the floor for the item Phil was so possessive over. It wasn’t too far away from his body, actually. He reached towards it, and Phil slapped his hand. 

“No! It’s not finished!” 

“Yes, it is!” Dan launched towards it the same time as Phil, and being slightly bigger and well rested gave him the advantage. It grabbed it with both hands, scrambling away from Phil. “It’s mine!”

“Dan!” Phil scolded, trying to snatch it back, and failing miserably.

“Stop. It’s officially the twenty-fifth. Merry Christmas, by the way.” He positioned himself so he could lean against the footboard of Phil’s bed, and firmly gripped his present in both hands. “Now if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take a look at my present now.” 

“But, Dan,” Phil practically whimpered.

“No ‘buts’ about it, Phil. I’m sure I’ll like it how it is.” After giving Phil a look, he finally let his eyes downcast to the book in his hands, and gaze over the front.

The front cover was a black leather, and in the center, there was a photo. It was of him and Phil, standing on top of one of the taller buildings in Nevada, looking over Las Vegas. It was at night, so they were only silhouettes, but the city before them was lit up in magnificent colors. 

Dan flipped open the book, the pages being rather thick and heavy. On the first page, there were no photos, but there was a handwritten note.

_ Dan,  _

_ In this book, you will find some of my favorite memories (as well as yours) throughout the best year of our lives (2016 in case you couldn’t tell). We had so many good times together, it’s almost impossible to fit them all into one book, but a man can try, can’t he? Anyways, here’s to this year and many more. _

_ \- Phil _

With steady fingers, Dan turned the page, looking over the photos that had been carefully cut and placed onto colorful paper.

The first photo was just of Phil as he looked out the window of the airplane, gazing over the country known as America. Of course Dan knew he took this picture, but he didn’t know how Phil obtained it. Or knew how Dan even took it, no less. 

The next was the two of them in the middle of a marshy swamp in Florida, with Dan making a frowning face and pointing at the ground. After thinking about the photo, he knew this was when they went on a waterboat before the tour, and he was doing his best Shrek impression for Phil. It always made the older laugh, so Dan would do it just to see his smile. But Phil didn’t know that, of course.

He continued flipped through the pages, seeing various photos - some of which he recognized as  _ DAPGO  _ rejects that not even their subscribers had seen, or just photos that no one, not even him, had laid a single eye on.

“Phil,” Dan said in a choked whisper.

Phil rubbed his eyes, wishing he would have taken out his contacts last night. Ignoring the pain in his eyes, he said, “It’s a scrapbook of our journeys this year. From the American tour to a ‘post baking universe,’ and everything in between, it’s in there. Well, most of it. You wouldn’t let me finish,” he said with a slight pout. 

Dan chuckled, his focus still on the handmade scrapbook in front of him. Even he didn’t get Phil something as meaningful and deep as this. “My gift doesn’t even compare in value to this one.” 

Phil felt his cheeks heat up. “So you like it, then?”

“Of course I do,” Dan scoffed. “It’s perfect.” He closed it gently, setting it on the box of props at the end of Phil’s bed. “Come here.” He offered Phil his hand, helping him up off the floor. “Go take your contacts out and then come to my room. You’re going to take a nap before we do anymore Christmas festivities.” 

“But, Dan-”

“Stop arguing with me and go.” Dan pointed out the door, and Phil trudged down the hall, to the bathroom. Dan grabbed the book and headed to his own room to wait for Phil.

He came back a few minutes later, wordlessly climbing onto the other side of Dan’s bed.  He snuggled up underneath the duvet, breathing in the warm scent. Dan was already beside him, laying on top of the covers and resting against the headboard.

“You’re not lying, are you?” Phil suddenly asked.

“About what?” 

“Liking the scrapbook.” 

Dan laughed deeply. “Not at all, Phil. I love it. And you’re going to sleep whilst I look through the rest of it.” He pulled it back on his lap, opening it to the same page he left off on.

“Tell me why I have to sleep in here?” Phil yawned, pulling the covers up to his chin.

“So I can be sure that you’re actually sleeping and not trying to slave away on some other present you procrastinated on.” 

“Hey, I didn’t procrastinate. The idea just came a little late,” Phil argued.

Dan chuckled. “Sure it did. Go to sleep and I’ll give you your present and some hot chocolate later, okay?”

“Okay,” Phil mumbled, letting his eyes slip shut. He forgot to take off his glasses, but he felt Dan remove them for him.

It took almost no time for Phil to fall asleep next to Dan, snoring softly as he did so.

The smile on Dan’s face never left as he looked from Phil to the scrapbook, reliving some of the best memories he’s ever had. It took him nearly an hour to reach the end of the book, as he was drinking in every detail of every photo and handwritten note. He supposed the last photo was his favorite memory of all, and they had quite a few of them.

They were in Stockholm, visiting some park the day after they finished their final TATINOF show, just taking time to wind down before going home. It was one of those moments that require no words or actions, but is easily readable from looks alone. It was that moment in time where the both of them realized they meant something more to each other than what they let on, but somehow they always knew that. 

The two of them were sitting on a park bench, looking out at the lake as they held coffee in their hands, and yet again, Dan wasn’t sure who took this photo, but he supposed that wasn’t the point. The point was that at that moment in time, they were done holding back. They were done hiding things even they didn’t want to see, and somehow, with no words, they were able to tell each other as much. They didn’t need to make anything official, because labels sucked. Things just . . . were. And Dan couldn’t have asked for a better gift, or a better reminder, of the year that completely changed his life into something better.

With one last glance at Phil, he smiled and closed the book, deciding that he would spend the rest of the morning watching Phil sleep. Just as he did those many nights on the tour bus in America.

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
